Intertidal organisms have long been considered an ideal system to quantify how physical variations determine differential energy allocations in specimens inhabiting environmental gradients such as exposure to wave action. In habitats with differential intertidal wave exposure (sheltered, Sh; and exposed, E) seasonal gonadal and foot weight variations and their associations with exposure and food availability (algae abundance) were determined in the keyhole limpet Fissurella crassa. Gonadal weight is used as a measure of reproduction allocation whereas foot weight is an indirect indicator of energy allocation to survival. RNA:DNA ratio in limpets obtained from Sh and E habitats during the two different seasons was used as an indicator of biosynthetic capability. Our results indicate that algae abundance in E sites was higher in summer and lower in winter compared to Sh sites. In E sites the muscular foot weight of limpet was higher in summer in contrast to Sh sites where F. crassa muscular foot weight of limpet was higher in winter. Gonadal weight in Sh sites was higher in summer and remained constant in winter; whereas in E sites gonadal weight was lower in summer and higher in winter. RNA:DNA ratios indicate that regardless of intertidal wave exposure, F. crassa showed higher biosynthetic capability in summer. Energetic allocation in animals that inhabit sheltered intertidal habitats would support constant allocation towards reproduction. In contrast, animals that inhabit exposed habitats may favour seasonally reproduction allocation at expense of survival.
This work is a case report of the consumption of an armadillo (Dasypus novemcinctus) by a tiger shark (Galeocerdo cuvier), which was reported by fishermen and confirmed by an image showing the armadillo in the digestive tract of the gutted shark. The shark was captured by fishermen in Pedras de Una, Bahia State, Brazil. Two hypotheses are suggested: (1) the armadillo was eaten while crossing an estuarine region, or (2) during a rainstorm the animal was washed into the sea and the shark consumed the carcass. This is the first scientific record of the consumption of an armadillo by a shark.
Keywords: Dasypus novemcinctus, ecology, feeding habits, Galeocerdo cuvier
Consumo de tatu por tubarão tigre: uma contribuição da etnozoologiaResumo Aqui apresentamos um relato de caso onde houve o consumo de tatu (Dasypus novemcinctus) por um tubarão-tigre (Galeocerdo cuvier). O consumo foi relatado por pescadores e comprovado por fotos onde o tatu aparece no trato digestivo de um tubarão eviscerado. O tubarão foi capturado por pescadores em Pedras de Una, Bahia, Brasil. Duas hipóteses foram assumidas: a primeira, o tatu foi predado ao cruzar região estuarina e, na segunda, o animal foi arrastado pela chuva até o mar, onde o tubarão consumiu sua carcaça. Esta é a primeira vez que o consumo de tatu por tubarões foi registrado na ciência.
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